Slow Food is an organization that created a network promoting local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Here are some goals of the slow food movement: Food and Taste Education: ‘ Slow Food teaches children to fully use their senses to recognize food qualities and become conscious of their choices. Taste education in the early years of life contributes to a child's sensory memory and defines tastes and habits. Slow Food has reached thousands of children through its sensory education programs.’ Defense of biodiversity: ‘In reality it refers to a simple concept, relevant to everyone on the planet, because it is nature, it is life itself and it is the diversity of life, on many levels, from the smallest (genes, the building blocks of life) to plant and animal species, up to the most complex levels (ecosystems). All these levels intersect, influence each other and evolve.” ( Fondazione Slow Food ) Interaction between food producers: Communicating and working with local food producers allows the economy to grow and encourages sustainable farming. Along with the slow food movement , you have several other themes such as bees, climate change, family farming, slow food travel, food waste, GMOs, land grabbing, slow fish caribe, slow cheese, slow Europe , slow meat, slow fish, and slow wine. The Foundation has also introduced Slow Food Travel: “Behind every place lie stories, gastronomic traditions, artisanal flavors and time-honored practices, preserved by women and men whose identities and cultures have been constructed over centuries. Every gastronomic tradition can become a unique tourism experience. Slow Food Travel offers a new model for tourism, made up of meetings and exchanges with farmers, cheesemakers, herders, butchers, bakers and winegrowers who, along with the chefs who cook their products, will be the narrators of their local areas and unique guides to the local traditions.” To learn more, visit Slowfood.com

Bright and early Sunday morning, a group of friends and I made our way to Howth (ho-th), Ireland. While walking along the northern coast of Dublin Bay there is some feeling of serenity. The walk from the train to the summit was about 5km. This trip is fun and laid back as there are several points to stop and take a break off the path. At the beginning of the trail there is a cute coffee/food shop with such sweet dogs! As we made our way up the trail you start to see the coastline and people jumping from the cliffs into the water. Some of my friends even spotted a seal! Highly recommend this hike for anyone around Dublin! We took the green path which is fairly easy and defined. Generally, there are 5 paths: The Black Linn loop (aka the Red Route), The Bog of Frogs loop (aka the Purple Route), The Howth Cliff Path loop (aka the Green Route), The Tramline Loop (aka the Blue Route), and last is the short path which starts at Howth Head Peak and goes to The Summit (parking lot). After the walk, we decided to stop in the town and grab a traditional dish of fish and chips!

Life as a wanderer. There is nothing freer than not being attached to anything. As a traveler , you are embracing new cultures and constantly meeting new people. This is very valuable and creates a bond with you and the locals. As you travel, you begin to detach yourself from calling a single place home. Of course , there will always be a special place where your family and friends are located, but now there are new places where you’ve made memories. On the other side , it might be sad to read ‘nowhere is home’, but it simply means one is not attached to things or places. This philosophy is similar to the Buddhist monks practicing non-attachment to attain spiritual enlightenment. This also ties into last week’s debate about minimalism. Traveling lightly allows you to move freely and not worry about materialistic things. When everywhere is home there is no mental limit to where you can go. Once a house is classified a home then often we like to stay close to there. We feel safe. This phrase just allows us to go out of our comfort zone and make the most of every place we visit. Opening up to new neighbors and locals just as we would when moving to a new neighborhood creates endless places to call 'home'. Do you agree with this statement or do you think there is always a place to call home?